Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¡Lo que cobran por una botella de agua! - The amount they charge for a bottle of water!

While ¡Cuánto cobran! also means 'How much they charge!', using ¡lo que! before a verb is a very common, expressive way to emphasize an extreme amount or degree. In these exclamations, lo que translates best to 'The amount that' or 'How much'.

How does the ¡lo que! structure work compared to the ¡la de! structure taught in this lesson?

The structure ¡lo que! attaches directly to a verb, as seen here with ¡lo que cobran! (the amount they charge!). If you wanted to emphasize a noun instead of a verb action, you would switch to the ¡la de + noun + que! structure. For instance, you could say ¡La de plata que cobran! (The amount of money they charge!).

Why is the verb cobran in the 'they' form if we don't know who is charging?

Just like in English, Spanish often uses the third-person plural to make a statement impersonal. Saying cobran (they charge) refers vaguely to the restaurant, the store, or whoever sets the prices, without needing to name a specific subject.

I sometimes mix up por and para. Why is it por una botella here?